Designing for School Spirit

Today in Chapel, I had the pleasure of sharing with our students our new LCS Terrapin graphic/logo designed by Kevin Limeback. The logo represents, in two-dimensional form, our school mascot—a big-footed, friendly green terrapin who joins us to cheer for our athletic teams and celebrate special events (a generous gift of the Grad Class of 2014). The terrapin pays tribute to the many varieties of turtles that share our lake with us, we love our natural environment—just consider our longstanding cheer and nickname for the school: G-R-O-V-E, Grove! (Named for the beautiful grove of maple trees on campus, tapped every year to produce delicious maple syrup.)

New LCS Terrapins logo designed by Kevin Limeback

The designer of the LCS Terrapins logo, Kevin Limeback, began his involvement with LCS as Assistant Head of House for Rashleigh, and is now a Teaching Fellow in the Lakefield Educators’ Apprenticeship Program for Grades 9 and 10 science.

Kevin’s passion for teaching stems from his experiences working with youth at summer camp, for 16 summers he fulfilled a variety of roles at Onondaga Camp, and has been volunteering for Camp Oochigeas for the past two summers.

“I loved working in an environment in which youth have the opportunity to build self-esteem, foster friendships, overcome adversity and develop character, and that’s what pushed me to explore a career in teaching.” ~Kevin Limeback

We asked Kevin about his creative inspirations and to describe his experience designing the LCS Terrapins logo. This is what he had to say:

Q: Where do you seek inspiration when it comes to design and the creative process?

“Although I’ve never had any formal training in graphic design, I’ve always had a passion for art (especially cartooning), and developed a fascination with creating digital art with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. As a hobby, I naturally began to incorporate graphic design into my roles in camp and teaching, creating t-shirts, logos and various product designs.

“My brother is, without question, my greatest source of inspiration. I’m still relatively new to the graphic design game, but my brother has been excelling in art his whole life. Whenever I’m working on a project, I pitch ideas to him and trust his feedback. For this project, he helped steer my creative process in the right direction. I’m ecstatic to be contributing to The Grove with this logo, and I hope this project will continue to encourage my creative eye.”

Q: What were your goals when you set out to design the terrapin logo?

“My main goal (and ultimately my largest struggle) was to ensure the terrapin actually looked like a turtle. At first, I experimented with a few versions only focusing on the terrapin’s face, but without a recognizable shell nearby the terrapin looked more dinosaur-like. I also wanted to ensure the terrapin was fierce since turtles aren’t typically known for their aggressive mannerisms. Finally, I really didn’t want people to associate our terrapin with a Ninja Turtle, so I steered clear of making it too human-like and muscular.”

Q: What did you learn from this project?

“When I took on the project, I was convinced my first idea—the one I had been picturing for weeks—would be the perfect logo. However, no matter how many times I tried to translate my vision into reality, I kept encountering roadblocks. The design process is very much a trial by error and experimentation process, and I learned to push myself to not settle for my first idea.”

Q: What is it that you enjoyed most about the design process?

“Truthfully, I most enjoy the challenge of finding the right look. The “eureka moment” of figuring out which version works best is extremely rewarding after countless attempts.”

Q: What do you hope the LCS Terrapins logo will inspire in others?

“I took on this project as a chance to contribute to our immense school spirit. It would be a massive honour if the terrapin logo, once printed on team uniforms and clothing, fueled our school’s camaraderie even further.”

On behalf of the LCS community, thank you and congratulations to Kevin. We so appreciate the investment of your time and creative talents to this fun project, I know I will be proud to wear LCS Terrapins gear while cheering on our teams next year!